McAdam: 'Sox finally headed in right direction'

McAdam: 'Sox finally headed in right direction'

CSNNE's Red Sox Insider Sean McAdam joined SportsNet Central to break down Boston's recent games that are getting them closer to where they want to be.
"(The Red Sox) are at .500 for the third time this season after a road trip that saw them go 5-3. With three tough series on the road, in Tampa where they split two, in Philly where they took two out of three, and here in Baltimore where they also took two out of three.
"Over the trip, it seemed like everyone contributed. There were newcomers like Scott Podsednik and call ups like Daniel Nava playing big parts."
Boston enjoyed an off day Thursday -- their first in 20 days -- and will be back on the diamond Friday at home against the Rays.

The former Red Sox manager (fired after a 69-93 season and last-place finish in 2012), and ex-New York Mets and Texas Rangers, skipper, also managed the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan’s Pacific League for six seasons.

Valentine, 66, has known the President-elect and Trump's brother Bob since the 1980s, is close to others on Trump’s transition team and has had preliminary discussions about the ambassador position, according to WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford.

Valentine, currently the athletic director of Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn., is also friendly with current Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who, like Valentine, attended the University of Southern California.

"My career had fallen into an abyss because I was so complacent with things that I had already accomplished," Sandoval said. "I did not work hard in order to achieve more and to remain at the level of the player that I am and that I can be."

After dealing Travis Shaw to the Brewers, Sandoval is expected to be the Red Sox primary third baseman in 2017.

"I am not taking anything for granted," he said. "I am here to work hard. I'm not thinking about the position or not. I am starting from scratch, and I am here to show what I can do on the field."

The 30-year-old says he’s following a “really strict routine” this offseason, and it shows. In a recent photo, Sandoval appears noticeably thinner. Sandoval says his wife giving birth to “Baby Panda” has served as inspiration.

"Watching 'Baby Panda' grow up and that he gets the opportunity to see his father play in the majors for seven, eight more years, to get back to the success I had, that's my motivation every day," Sandoval said. "The people that I surround myself with now and my family, they are the key to my success. This has been a life lesson."